Letters to the Editor --- June 9

Posted:
06/09/2014 07:02:02 AM MDT

Used book sale a success

The Friends of the Sterling Public had a successful annual book sale and raised $8,000. The Friends are a non-profit organization whose sole purpose is to raise money for the Sterling Public Library. We support programs like Summer Reading, preschool/nursing home book delivery, and author visits to local schools. We also help purchase books and technology for the library.

We are so very grateful to all those who donated and purchased books. Special thanks go to KPMX, the Journal-Advocate, the South Platte Sentinel, Major Liquors, Clay Prall, Dave Conely, Sam Green, Logan County, Logan Industries, and the Copes.

Thanks,

DeeLyn Matthews

VP Friends of the Sterling Public Library

A spin on bad news

Let me turn the clock back to August 2011. The presidential campaign of 2011 is in high gear. Vice President Biden says that Osama Ben Laden is dead. President Obama says that Al Qaida is on the run. (The impression generated was that we are tough and terrorists are no longer a threat ).

However, Benghazi was a hot bed for terrorists. Britain's vehicles had been attacked and their decision was to close their embassy and evacuate all personnel. The Red Cross saw that Benghazi was unstable and evacuated all personnel. However, a few days later our embassy was attacked and ruined. Our Ambassador, Chris Stevens and three other Americans were killed. Our various security agency reports went all the way to the top that this was a planned terrorist attach. (September 11, 2011 was unique because it was the 10th anniversary when terrorist attacks killed 2996 people at the collapse of the Twin Towers in New York, a third airliner struck the Pentagon and a fourth plan crashed in a field in Pennsylvania).

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This was not the news the administration wanted to hear only 52 days prior to the election. They concocted a press release that it was only a spontaneous demonstration caused by a video. Susan Rice, from team Obama, goes on all the major networks on Sunday with the spontaneous demonstration and video story. Five days later the President is in the rose garden saying it was a spontaneous demonstration caused by a video. He is outraged and says that the perpetrators will be caught and punished. The election is now only 47 days away. Then the administration is silent on the issue hoping the issue will die. The parents of the dead want to know what happened! Representative Issa (R.-Ca.) requests documents of who knew what and when did they know it. No documents were released. Months go by. The White House claims they were only advised it was a spontaneous demonstration caused by a video.

The White House investigation was going nowhere after two years. After receiving a few documents representative Issa had to be wondering why the stonewalling. Jay Carney, Presidents Press Secretary, would be asked and his pat answer was that Benghazi was a long time ago. Hillary Clinton testified and made the statement "What difference at this point does it make"? (The parents of the dead men did not receive any satisfaction from that comment and were upset). More stonewalling. Representative Cummings (D-CA) said that the incident has been investigated enough and it is time to close the file and move on. So every Democratic politician says "nothing " more can be learned. Other Americans might conclude the opposite is closer to the truth.

An independent firm, Judicial Watch, requested administrative documents under the Freedom of Information Act". What they received the week of May 2, 2014 exposes new information about what the White House knew and when they knew it.

Would we be at this point if the administration had leveled from the start with the public? Instead, the recent embarrassing email from the top White House aid, Ben Rhodes, extracted from the White House last month suggests the administrations' impulse was to spin (go with the spontaneous demonstration and video story) Benghazi from day one, rather than play it straight. That was the administrations political decision then only 52 days prior to the presidential election.

The House Republicans are creating a select bipartisan committee with subpoena power to investigate the Administrations handling of the Benghazi situation.

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